Understanding the Varying Biological Behaviors of Breast and Other Types of Cancer to Avoid Overdiagnosis
Authors: Otis W. Brawley, Rohan Ramalingam
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2023)

EditorialsSeptember 2023Understanding the Varying Biological Behaviors of Breast and Other Types of Cancer to Avoid OverdiagnosisOtis W. Brawley, MD, Rohan RamalingamOtis W. Brawley, MDDepartment of Oncology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, Rohan RamalingamDepartment of Oncology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MarylandAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/M23-1895 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail In their article, Richman and colleagues compare breast cancer diagnosis and death in a screened population of U.S. woman aged 70 to 85 years with an unscreened population of the same age (1). They estimate that 31% of women aged 70 to 74 years diagnosed with breast cancer through screening were potentially overdiagnosed. For women aged 75 to 84 years, they estimate 47% were potentially overdiagnosed.Overdiagnosis is the finding of a tissue that has all of the pathologic hallmarks of cancer on biopsy but if left alone will not go on to cause symptoms or death and may even ...References1. Richman IB, Long JB, Soulos PR, et al. Estimating breast cancer overdiagnosis after screening mammography among older women in the United States. Ann Intern Med. 2023;176:1172-1180. doi:10.7326/M23-0133 LinkGoogle Scholar2. Osuch JR, Silk K, Price C, et al. A historical perspective on breast cancer activism in the United States: from education and support to partnership in scientific research. J Womens Health (Larchmt). 2012;21:355-362. [PMID: 22132763] doi:10.1089/jwh.2011.2862 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Dunn BK, Woloshin S, Xie H, et al. Cancer overdiagnosis: a challenge in the era of screening. J Natl Cancer Cent. 2022;2:235-242. [PMID: 36568283] doi:10.1016/j.jncc.2022.08.005 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. 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Brawley, MD; Rohan RamalingamAffiliations: Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MarylandDisclosures: Disclosures can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M23-1895.Corresponding Author: Otis W. Brawley, MD, Johns Hopkins University, 1550 Orleans Street, CRB 1M-14, Baltimore, MD 21287; e-mail, otis.brawley@jhu.edu.This article was published at Annals.org on 8 August 2023. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoEstimating Breast Cancer Overdiagnosis After Screening Mammography Among Older Women in the United States Ilana B. Richman , Jessica B. Long , Pamela R. Soulos , Shi-Yi Wang , and Cary P. Gross Metrics Cited byBreast cancer screening: Overdiagnosis increases significantly with age, researchers say Current IssueSeptember 2023Volume 176, Issue 9Page: 1273-1274KeywordsBreast cancerCancer detection and diagnosisCancer screeningClinical pathologyGenomicsMammographyOverdiagnosisPrevention, policy, and public health ePublished: 8 August 2023 Issue Published: September 2023 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2023 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...